Your Responsibility for Marketing

The Author’s Responsibilities for Marketing Books
Why it Isn’t All Up to Your Publisher or Your Publicist

There is a very old myth in the world of writing and publishing that is this: “When I have written my book, and I have turned it over to a publisher, my work is done. People will just flock to the bookstores, and online bookstores to buy. Then, I can retire in comfort!”

Typically, I hear a version of this myth from authors all the time. I must say, it is how the publishing world projects the process, write the book, hand it to a publisher, and then sit back and get rich. Sadly, this couldn’t be further from the truth! So, without wanting to seem negative, I’ll set out for you here some of the realities of the author’s responsibilities in marketing books, and some how-to’s that can help you get started.

Your publisher is not your publicist. Publishers create books. Their job is to take your manuscript and make it into a saleable book.

  • Depending on your agreement with the publisher, they can alter your book, or not. Most publishers would prefer your book be as close to market-ready as possible, though they will often make suggestions about the organization of the book.
  • In fiction, it is important to put the crisis creating events at the beginning and take the rest of the time to figure out what happened and why. It is also important to place the action somewhere the reader is familiar with.
  • In non-fiction, it is important to provide the benefits of the information to the reader, and then the how-to’s of putting the information to work for the reader.
  • The publisher will send out a release announcement press release at the time the book is published. But, it is not the publisher’s responsibility to provide extensive publicity, book tours, or promotional events for you. That is your job, whether you do so in concert with a publicist or not.

Your publicist is not all powerful.

  • Often, authors as publicists to guarantee that they well get mainstream publicity for the author and his book. No one can guarantee this. If a publicist promises they can, they are not being truthful.
  • The publicist’s job is to put information out to the press in such a way that they become interested, and to do so on a timeline that enhances this possibility.
  • But, NO ONE actually tells the press what books to review, which authors to write articles about, or who they should do interviews with. Some publicists have good working relationships with the magazines, newspapers, radio and TV shows they pitch to, but there is never a guarantee that they can get you and your book national exposure.
  • WHY? The competition is enormous.
  • And, there are famous people whose books get top priority. WHY? Because they’re already famous.
  • Unless your book and you are a phenomenon, most press folks will say, “so what?”

I call this the “so what” factor. Unless you can create a book that turns the “so what” factor into a “that’s what” factor, your book will very likely not become nationally known.

I keep using the DaVINCI CODE and THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE as examples of the “so what” being turned into “that’s what” factors. Dan Brown planned the controversy of his book’s premise, put the action in famous sites, and created an intriguing puzzle for the reader to solve along with the main characters. He also fueled the flames of controversy with the religious community, and insisted that his book was fiction based on disputed facts, and that he had not plagiarized anyone’s research. All this made his book a world-wide bestseller.

Rick Warren struck gold when he provided the world the reason to be alive --- or at least the call to action to figure out why the reader has a reason to be alive. THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE answers the most basic question everyone faces in life: Why am I here? What is my purpose? Self-help books suggest that people should look within, at their own desires and dreams, but Rick Warren says the starting place must be with God and his eternal purposes for each life. His ministry is now global, and his own life story enhances his spiritual and positive message.

Was all this planned? Yes, and worked and re-worked until it made people sit up and take notice. Both authors had begun long before their huge successes to build their credibility.

Your book is excellent, but no one is buying it. WHY?

Because, very likely, you are not out there promoting your book at every turn. Most authors do not take their books seriously. I mean that. They don’t make the marketing of their books a full-time job. They poke at it, perhaps, getting a few local book signings, or giving a few talks. But, in their minds and hearts, their work as authors was done when they sent the manuscript to the publisher. They are sitting back, waiting for the world to discover them, instead of getting out into the world and discovering where their readers are.
 
What is the most important perspective you need to change to build success into the sales of your book?

THERE IS NO OVER-NIGHT SUCCESS

Realize that yours is only one book of 1,095,000 books published annually in the USA, 3,000 every day, and this number is growing each year. Success in book sales is far less than you’ve been led to believe. 1500 books sold is a best-selling fiction title. 5,000 books sold is a best-selling non-fiction title. Adjust your idea of success, and plan for bookstore rejections.

How do you begin? Start right where you are.

  • Find your niche market and work it again and again. Build a database of customers and communicate with them regularly.
  • Get on radio talk shows of all kinds, and talk, talk, talk about your book.
  • Make yourself into an expert! Write articles for online services and for your local papers. Contact magazines in your subject area, and send them print-ready articles about you, your subject and your book.
  • Write more books, and keep your customer database growing.
  • Find your target market in your local area.
  • Build awareness of you and your book(s)
  • Branch out to your state and your region
  • Eventually, you may even make national connections
Never Ever Quit! Once you stop promoting your book, it will stop selling. Always think outside the book to discover ways to bring it to the attention of an ever growing population of readers.
 
Learn to live the Nightengale Press credo:
 
BELIEVE first in yourself ...
You can ACHIEVE EXCELLENCE if you:
WORK harder than others think is necessary
EXPECT more of yourself that others think is possible
TAKE RISKS more often than others think is safe
DREAM more than others think is practical
and NEVER, EVER QUIT!
 

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